


red no.40, blue no.1

by Glyphhunter



Series: Iridiachrome [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alcohol, Communication, Fluff, M/M, Set within the first half of Season 2, drunk keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 11:04:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10718130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glyphhunter/pseuds/Glyphhunter
Summary: Keith will have to thank the Eforans later for their quality alcohol. He doesn't understand Shiro's exasperation.





	red no.40, blue no.1

**Author's Note:**

> It's 7:30 in the morning. I stayed up all night for this. Enjoy.

There’s something to be said about finding love in space but unfortunately, Keith’s too intoxicated to figure out what that’s supposed to be. He’s standing with Hunk currently, a glass of something he can’t pronounce in his hand and he’s long since tuned out whatever it is Hunk’s talking to him about. Instead he’s focused across the dim lit room where Lance is standing with Shiro and Pidge as he retells the battle they just won. 

His arm swings wide, the other barely contained by the drink in his hand and the diplomats he’s wowing gasp dramatically. Keith snorts. He stares at the alcohol as he swirls it in his cup then knocks the rest back in one shot. Hunk stutters to a stop beside him then sighs.

“You haven’t been listening to me at all,” he says. He doesn’t even put in a question. Keith shakes his head and shrugs.

“This stuff is really… really,” he frowns and looks at the bottom of his empty glass. “This is much better than that nunvil shit,” he states and holds up the glass for Hunk to take. Someone else swings by and suddenly his hand has a full glass of alcohol again. Hunk takes it before he can do more than smell it.

“Nu-uh, not until you tell me what had you so distracted,” Hunk bargains and Keith is looking at Lance again without even realizing it. Hunk looks in the same direction but he clearly doesn't know who he’s actually focused on.

“I think I love him,” Keith states with a level of certainty only the drunk and the careless have. To Hunk’s credit, despite not knowing who Keith’s talking about, the man only blinks. Maybe it’s the alcohol. Keith gropes for his glass but Hunk pulls it out of reach.

“I’m going to need a few more words than that,” he says and Keith crosses his arms with a huff.

“Lance,” he says and Hunks brows reach for his hairline before he grins the widest grin Keith’s ever seen.

“ _Lance_ ,” he draws the name out as he leans close, “our Lance who can’t go a day without flirting. Our Lance who can make a joke out of anything. Our Lance who-”

“Is one of the best on-the-fly strategists that I’ve seen,” Keith continues, “and he stops me from being too impulsive not to mention the fact that nothing ever seems to get him down, like, did you see him today? That one fucker pretty much aired out his dirty laundry and Lance still managed to put a hole through him. Which, by the way, is a feat in of itself considering he was on the other end of the fucking battlefield.

“Then there’s the fact that every time he opens his mouth people just stop to listen. It doesn’t even matter what he’s saying! He could recite a goddamn tutorial and guaranteed, people are gonna learn from him because his voice is like honey when he knows what he’s talking about. It’s like he’s made for diplomacy, I mean, look at him!” He flings an arm towards Lance in the crowd except when Keith looks, he’s not actually there.

None of them are, actually. Shiro and Pidge are gone as well as the people they had been talking to, replaced by other party goers as they milled about the room. His arm drops slightly as he looks around but it’s a little hard to tell one glittering body from another with alcohol in his veins. He blinks and lets his arm fall back to his side.

Next to him, Hunk makes a dying sound in his throat. “Buddy,” he says and drops a hand on Keith’s shoulder to turn him around. He comes face to face with Lance who’s staring at him with wide eyes and a thankfully empty glass in his hand. Keith gropes for his drink again and Hunk lets him have it.

Except he doesn’t get to drink it this time either because Shiro picks it up and immediately hands it off to another patron as they pass by.  Lance is still staring at him and his face is getting redder by the second. Keith is doomed.

Pidge finally gives up on holding back her laughter and the sheer force of it sort of brings Keith back to his senses. Immediately his ears feel hot and he hides his face in his hands as Pidge bends over at the waist and slaps Lance on the back.

“All this time you thought he hated you!” she says and Lance squawks indignantly, “I can’t believe it, this is too good!”

“Shut up!” he shouts and hooks Pidge in a headlock, “Don’t say anything!”

“No! This is gold! This is perfect!” She squirms until she gets one good jab at Lance’s side and his arms fall away, “now you can stop coming to Hunk and I to whine about his ‘stupid perfect face’!”

“ _Pidge!_ ” Lance shrieks as Keith’s jaw drops and he looks up at Hunk. Hunk shrugs and nods and doesn't look very apologetic about it.

“Every other day, it feels like,” he says and Keith feels like his world has turned on its side.

He looks to Shiro who’s watching everything while looking a little bit helpless. “I’m sorry” he says, guilty of also talking Shiro’s ear off when Lance pissed him off, “you were right.” Shiro laughs weakly and rubs his face in his hands.

“Let’s just, hold back on the alcohol from now on,” he says then hooks an arm around Keith’s shoulders and brings him close. “As enlightening as this experience is, I don’t think you’ll be wanting to do this again.”

“I don’t know, Shiro,” Pidge argues around Lance’s continued attempts to cover her mouth, “it got some pretty good results.”

“We’ll see how good they are once the alcohol wears off,” Shiro says and he pats the top of Keith’s head. “How much have you had to drink?” Keith blinks at him and goes to answer but the number doesn’t come to him right away and he brings a hand up to try and count.

“Two- no, three,” Hunk answers for him and Keith lets his hand drop, “but this stuff is stronger than what we normally get at home so maybe more like five?” He looks at Keith, “Does five sound about right?”

“Sure,” Keith shrugs and he thinks he can finally feel his face cooling. “Let’s go with that.”

“No, no!” Lance bursts and lets Pidge stumble away. “We are not pushing this aside! You don’t get to suddenly profess your love for me after you’ve spent all this time hating me.” And Lance is suddenly in his face, still red around the ears. Keith leans back but Shiro’s arm holds him in place.

“I don’t-”

“If there’s going to be an altercation, I would really suggest the training grounds,” a voice cuts in and they all turn to see Allura and the newly appointed Emperor of the Eforans, Hadrus. He smiles benignly at them as Allura raises a questioning brow. Shiro waves his free hand and her shoulders relax.

“No fights,” he explains, “just a bit of a revelation. I have to say, you have some fine quality alcohol at your disposal. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Keith quite this relaxed.” He pats Keith on the head again and Keith waves.

Hadrus covers his mouth as he laughs. “I could send you with a bottle at the end of the night, if it pleases you,” he says and Keith is already nodding despite Shiro’s protests. “And if there is no fight, then perhaps your Blue Paladin would like to take a walk with me?” he asks and his eyes shine green under his half mask.

“Me?” Lance questions, finger pointed towards himself and Hadrus nods graciously. They all look at Lance as he blinks at Hadrus and after a quick glance around, he agrees. “We’re not done,” he says as he passes Keith, a finger in his face, then he’s being led away by the Emperor towards the gardens. They all watch as they leave and once they’re out of hearing distance, Allura sighs.

“If anyone has a glass of kueil, I would love some,” she says and Hunk offers her the rest of his. She downs it like a shot and Shiro gives a weary sigh.

“Everybody’s drinking water when we get back,” he says and Pidge laughs as Allura hands the empty glass off to a server.

“I, for one, would like to know what was happening when we arrived,” she says, ignoring Shiro for the time being. “Lance looked quite intense there for a tick.”

“Keith figured out he loves Lance,” Hunk summarizes.

“Lance heard him gushing and somehow still thinks he’s lying,” Pidge adds. Keith frowns.

“He thinks I hate him,” Keith says and Allura’s hand covers her mouth as she gasps. Then she’s grinning excitedly and her hands clap together as she bounces on the spot.

“Oh, this is perfect!” she exclaims and she’s reaching forward to tug Keith from under Shiro’s arm. “This couldn’t have happened at a better time! You need to go,” she urges as she turns him towards the door and pushes against his back, “follow them! They’re not far, it won’t be hard to find. 

“Um, okay?” Keith agrees and Allura’s hands leave him with a final push. “Just in the garden, right?” he sways as he walks forward and he tries to compensate only to end up almost knocking into another guest. Shiro catches him by the arm and Keith clings to his side.

“Come on,” Shiro guides him and pulls him straight when he steps too far to the left. “After this, you’re going to bed.”

“But Lance-”

“Will be there when you wake up,” Shiro points out, “and by then you’ll be sober. Hopefully you’ll remember tonight.”

“I’m not- I haven’t had that much,” Keith points out. For a moment, he gets distracted by a pair of dancers and their glittering robes and his steps lag. Half of him wonders what Lance would look like dressed up like the Eforans with their robes that flirt with their toes and masks that only hint at their face. Then there’s whatever it is that makes the fabric shimmer with each shift of light and with it all put together, Keith gets the feeling that Lance would have the time of his life with the anonymity that Eforan dress provides.

“You’re not even listening to me,” Shiro says and Keith regrettably lets go of his fantasy. He matches his step as best as he can with Shiro’s but the shifting light reflecting off of everybody is becoming disorienting. Dancing like this would actually be pretty fun, he thinks.

“Shiro, Shiro,” he taps the man’s arm to make sure he had his attention. “I think I figured out what this kuel shit is for.”

“Kueil,” Shiro corrects. He sounds tired.

“Whatever. Everything feels like a fucking _trip_ with this light _._ ” He laughs and Shiro’s grip on him tightens.

“Right, you’re definitely going to bed after this.” Shiro grunts and Keith lurches to the side as Shiro pulls him around a corner. The transition from indoors to outdoors is sudden in temperature, light and smell. Nausea rolls in his stomach, as sudden as the transition and then he’s bent at the waist and Shiro is groaning.

“I never should’ve gotten up today,” Shiro moans to no one. Keith spits.

He blinks at the mess on the ground, waiting for the looming nausea, then straightens when it fades. He feels much better now. He’s not seeing triple anymore. He tells as much to Shiro and only gets a sigh in return. At least they’re outside.

“Let’s go,” Shiro tugs on his arm, “it’s only around the corner.”

“How do you know?” Keith asks as they finish rounding the side of the building. Hedges rise up the side of the path and stop just under his chin and strung through them are tiny white fairy lights that brighten and fade at random intervals. Keith pokes one and it jumps away from his finger into the air. He gapes after it. Fireflies!

“Because that’s Lance right there,” Shiro points, oblivious to the white fireflies and Keith forgets all about them too as he finds Lance beyond the hedges. Hadrus is still with him and Lance is listening attentively as the Emperor talks. Keith is watching when Lance stops mid-nod to sputter at him instead and he sees the Emperor hide another laugh before bowing back.

Keith needs to be in there.

“Where do I-?” He scans the path for a break in the hedge and pulls away from Shiro when he finds it through a simple metal gate. The whole thing is a bit of a maze he notes but there’s a straightforward path to the center and Keith strides down it without hesitation.

Hadrus is the first to notice him with a flash of green through his mask and he hands something to Lance before he turns away down a different path. Lance stays, thankfully, and stares at the object in his hands, his back to Keith. There’s steps to get to where Lance is and it’s when Keith steps on the first one that Lance hears him.

He turns, his brows raised in slight surprise and Keith feels a sting of nervousness that makes him hesitate. The courtyard is lit by the dual moons, both full and large and one seems to sit behind Lance as if to frame him for this exact moment. There’s nothing even really special about it, just them in a simple hedge maze but Keith finds himself at a loss for how he never realized this before.

Lance is an amazing person and he thinks Keith hates him.

“I’m sorry,” Keith says, still on the bottom step and Lance’s brows raise higher as he fully turns to face him. “I never meant for you think I didn’t like you. Because it’s not true, it’s really, really not and before tonight I never actually realized how not true it is and I just- I can’t keep going on with this bullshit rivalry between us without telling you that I don’t mean more than half of what I say, I can’t.” Keith goes up another step and Lance continues to stare.

“I’ve been an asshole, that much I can admit. I’ve said some things that have been unwarranted and for that, I’m sorry too. You’re not as irritating as I make you out to be,  you’ve never been, and you’re not an idiot either. You make us relax and to be honest, you’re probably the best strategist I’ve seen. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could whip everyone’s ass at chess.” He sees Lance’s throat bob as he swallows and Keith takes another step.

“You’re an amazing person, Lance, beautiful, gorgeous even, and even people you just meet can see that. It honestly makes me a little bit jealous, the way that you can command a room without even trying. You always know how to put others at ease.” Keith takes the final step and he’s face-to-face with Lance, close enough that he can see the red burning his ears again. “Just like you always know exactly what to say when the time’s right.” 

“You doing a pretty good job of it right now,” Lance croaks.

“I’m drunk,” Keith states and a laugh bursts out of Lance as he turns and paces in a circle. But it’s not the easy kind of laugh that Keith has gotten used to. There’s a nervous strain to it and when Lance turns back to Keith, his smile wobbles at the edges.

“You’re a goddamn mess, Mullet, how did Shiro let you out of his sight?” he asks and Keith looks over his shoulder to the edge of the hedges. Shiro is still there, arms crossed, but he’s not watching them explicitly. Keith jerks his thumb in his direction as Lance sighs.

“I’m sorry it took me this long to put it all together and that I treated you like shit because of it,” Keith says as Lance’s eyes flick back towards him, “you didn’t deserve that.”

“It’s fine.” Lance’s voice cracks and he clears his throat. “I haven’t exactly been the best either.” Keith shakes his head.

“That still doesn’t mean you deserved any of it.”

“How about this?” Lance almost cuts him off as he raises a hand, “we were both shitty people to each other and neither of us deserved it. Because if you’re going to apologize then I probably should too.” Keith blinks. That’s… probably not a bad idea.

“Okay,” he says and Lance lets his hand drop. He braces it on his hip as he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

“I started this rivalry because I didn’t understand you,” he starts, “I thought you couldn’t care less about anyone that wasn’t Shiro and that maybe if I couldn’t get you to care about me then I could get you to hate me instead. So I riled you up and used that as an excuse to get nasty. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. You care about everyone in your own way I just wasn’t looking at it right. _I_ didn’t care enough to look for it.” Lance doesn’t let his gaze waver, his eyes bright in the light of the moons and Keith is mesmerized.  

“I’m sorry I ever doubted you,” he says, “I’m sorry that I never thought to look beneath the surface and only took you at face value. I’m sorry you had to deal with my insecurities like that. You didn’t deserve that either.” Keith is speechless and his heart races in his chest as Lance looks down and pulls his lip between his teeth. Then he turns on his heel and strides across the dias, aiming to leave.

“Lance, wait!” Keith follows after him, reaching, and manages to stop him mid step. His hand is shaking, Keith realizes, gripped tight around something else and he slowly turns back as Keith turns his hand over. He’s holding a pendant, tear shaped and made of dark gemstone and when he shifts it in the light, something reflects in the center.

“What is this?” he asks and Lance shrugs. The tremors in his hand is visible in his shoulders.

“A relic of the previous Blue Paladin,” he says, “left behind before the war with the Galra. I tried to refuse but Hadrus gave it to me saying he was returning it to its original owner.” Lance pulls away and raises the gem up to the light. “He didn’t actually say what it was for though.”

The light of the moon surprisingly shines through, colouring it deep violet, and catches the image in the center. A crest, actually, of a winged blade but it’s significance is lost on Keith and after a moment of looking, he shifts his gaze to Lance. “Thank you,” he says and Lance meets his eyes as he lowers his arm, “for your apology. And thank you for listening to mine.” Lance blinks then smiles and Keith is breathless.

“We really need to get you drunk more often, I could get used to you like this.” Keith’s eyes widen then he scowls and Lance laughs as he wraps Keith in a hug. “I’m kidding!” he says as he rocks them on the spot and presses his face into Keith’s hair, “you need to lighten up.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Keith sighs as he holds tight and his eyes catch the gem in Lance’s hand again. Light slips between his fingers, shifting from soft white to gentle blue and back and Keith wants to see it again. He’s never seen a stone do that before.

“Can I see?” he asks as he taps Lance’s side.

“Hmm? Oh, sure.” He keeps an arm around Keith’s waist as he brings the stone up between them. “That’s actually kinda weird, isn’t it?” he notes. The gem sits neatly in his palm, the crest glimmering from residual moonlight and Keith nods. He runs his fingers over the edge and if it weren’t for the hitch in Lance’s breath, he probably would’ve dismissed the way the crest shifted as drunk vision.

For an instant, the wings seemed to extend but then they’re back to their original position a second later and Keith and Lance blink at each other.

“Is it supposed to do that?” Keith asks and Lance shrugs. It’s an alien rock, who knows what it could do. Neither of them are expecting the burst of wind that buffets them moments later, however. They cling to each other, eyes closed from the force of it but it’s not long before it lets up. When they open their eyes, both of them gasp in wonder.

The fireflies have been lifted from their resting place in the hedges and they fill the air to mix with the stars and form their own flickering constellations. Keith feels more than hears Lance’s breath stop as his arm shoots up and there, for an instant, is an echo of Orion at the end of his reach before the fireflies drift apart. He spots another constellation from home but it’s gone too fast for Keith to see it, lost in the ever drifting fireflies as they slowly return to the surface.

His breath comes out shaking and Keith holds him tighter.

“We need to come back here when all this is over,” Lance says and Keith hums in question. “Hadrus was telling me about the last time the Paladins of Voltron came to Efora and how the event is immortalized in one of their temples. If it’s anything like this place, it should be worth the trip, right?”

When he looks at Keith, his eyes are wide and excited, the lights of the fireflies making them shine. Once again, Keith is struck by how amazing Lance is. He nods and Lance grins.

“Now, I would kiss you right now,” Lance says and Keith’s heart leaps to his throat, “but your breath fucking reeks and I’m guessing the only reason you’re actually standing right now is because you threw up before you got here.”

There’s a beat then Keith nods as his heart settles but there’s still a steady thrum in his veins. “On Shiro,” he says and Lance chokes, “or his boots actually, just outside the door.” Then Lance is laughing. It’s a loud, unforgiving laugh, one that’s pure happiness and Keith wants to hear it for the rest of his life.

“Fuck it!” Lance exclaims, “One kiss, just for that!” And his lips are on Keith’s before he can prepare. Warm is the first thing that comes to mind and it’s a feeling that spreads from his chest to his toes as they curl in his boots and his fingers as they tighten around Lance’s waist. It’s the feeling that makes Keith press closer, to take what he can get before Lance pulls away.

Dimly, he can hear Shiro in the distance though if he’s sighing or groaning he can’t actually tell. When Lance’s lips shift against his, Keith forgets all about him. He forgets about everything aside from the feel of Lance’s hand in his hair and his arm around his waist as warmth fills him to bursting. There’s something to be said about finding love in space but Keith’s too intoxicated to figure it out.


End file.
